Support services
A wide range of "back office" services
and facilities are provided by departments of the House
209. All four core tasks involve the management of
staff and of financial resources. All those working on the parliamentary
estate, in whatever capacity, require refreshment and other facilities.
While some services, such as the Travel Office and cash machines,
are provided by outside agencies, a wide range of 'back office'
services and facilities are provided by the departments of the
House. This section also covers essential estate management functions,
such as fire safety and energy conservation.
Payroll, pensions and financial management
210. The Department of Finance and Administration's
(DFA) core services include financial, payroll, pension, personnel,
corporate training, occupational health, safety and welfare, procurement
and internal review services.
211. During 2002/03, the House employed, on average,
1,477 full-time equivalent (fte) staff. Their distribution by
department and pay band is shown in the table opposite.
212. The Department switched to a new computer system
for the staff payroll in the summer of 2002. In 2002/03 DFA made
over 30,000 data changes to the staff payroll. The table on page
47 shows comparative figures for staff payroll over the last five
years.
213. A new computer system for managing staff pensions
(Penserver) was successfully introduced on 1 May 2002. The pension
scheme for House staff is analogous to the Principal Civil Service
Pension Scheme. Following the new pensions arrangements introduced
for civil servants in October 2002, the House successfully introduced
equivalent arrangements during the year. All existing staff were
invited to decide whether they wished to remain with their current
pension arrangements or to join the new pension scheme.
214. The House successfully moved from preparing
its accounts (House of Commons: Administration) on a cash basis
to preparing full resource accounts for the first time.
215. The House made a total of 12,365 payments during
the year, in addition to those made through the new purchase order
processing system. 85.7 per cent of invoices presented against
the Administration Estimate were paid within 30 working days of
the invoice date in 2002/03, a slightly better performance than
in recent years.
216. The House aims to support working parents. Childcare
vouchers are offered to help House staff with the cost of caring
for their children while they are at work. Over 100 staff took
advantage of this during the year. The House also offered a summer
holiday playscheme in conjunction with a local community centre.
This provided up to 10 places per week for school age children
whose parents work in Parliament. Costed options for childcare
provision for Members and their staff are currently being considered
by the Administration Committee. The Committee's recommendations,
and any implications for the childcare offered to House staff,
will be considered by the Commission in 2003/04.
House staff
| Pay Bands | Speaker's Office
| Clerk's | Office of the Clerk
| SAA[24]
| Library | DFA | IS[25]
| Official Report | RD[26]
| Total |
| | |
| | | |
| | | |
| SCS[27]
| 1.5 | 50.0 | 1.3
| 6.0 | 5.0 | 3.0
| 1.0 | 4.0 | 1.0
| 72.9 |
| | |
| | | |
| | | |
| A | 0.3 | 40.0
| 3.3 | 21.0 | 46.0
| 16.0 | 2.5 | 24.0
| 5.0 | 158.1 |
| | |
| | | |
| | | |
| B | 3.3 | 60.0
| 2.3 | 74.0 | 41.0
| 40.0 | 2.5 | 28.0
| 12.0 | 263.2 |
| | |
| | | |
| | | |
| C | 3.0 | 45.0
| 1.0 | 72.0 | 52.0
| 40.0 | 0.0 | 38.0
| 11.0 | 262.0 |
| | |
| | | |
| | | |
| D | 0.8 | 69.0
| 0.0 | 120.0 | 58.0
| 44.0 | 0.0 | 13.0
| 10.0 | 314.8 |
| | |
| | | |
| | | |
| E | 0.0 | 2.0 |
0.0 | 30.0 | 3.0 |
0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
0.0 | 35.0 |
| | |
| | | |
| | | |
| Sandwich Students | 0.0 | 1.0
| 0.0 | 3.0 | 1.0
| 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0
| 0.0 | 6.0 |
| | |
| | | |
| | | |
| Seconded In Staff | 0.0 | 15.0
| 0.0 | 0.0 | 3.0
| 3.0 | 0.0 | 0.0
| 0.0 | 21.0 |
| | |
| | | |
| | | |
| Specialist Catering Staff | 0.0
| 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0
| 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0
| 0.0 | 275.0 | 275.0
|
| | |
| | | |
| | | |
| Specialist Works Staff | 0.0 |
0.0 | 0.0 | 69.0 |
0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
0.0 | 0.0 | 69.0 |
| | |
| | | |
| | | |
| Total | 9.0 | 282.0
| 8.0 | 395.0 | 209.0
| 147.0 | 6.0 | 107.0
| 314.0 | 1,477.0 |
Staff payroll
| 1998/99 | 1999/2000
| 2000/01 | 2001/02 | 2002/03
|
| Number of House staff[28]
| - | - | 1,377
| 1,430 | 1,477 |
| Number of data changes made to staff payroll
| 44,216 | 48,417 | 29,461
| 40,890 | 30,343 |
Human resources and training
217. DFA provides services and advice on human resources and
training and development issues and in most cases manages the
processes for recruitment and promotion within the House service.
Staff movement in the House has increased, with a greater number
of staff moving between departments. The department supported
175 internal recruitment exercises and 69 external ones: the table
below shows how this compares with previous years. In order to
improve the effectiveness of recruitment, tests and assessment
centres are increasingly used.
Number of recruitment exercises
| Number of recruitment exercises | 1998/99
| 1999/2000 | 2000/01 | 2001/02
| 2002/03 |
| Internal | 137 | 154
| 151 | 154 | 175
|
| External | 61 | 84
| 79 | 94 | 69 |
218. DFA organised 50 learning and development events for managers
during the year. These covered a variety of topics from effective
writing skills to managing attendance, performance and discipline.
A series of management seminars were also launched, on a pilot
basis. Over 60 managers have so far taken advantage of these.
Internal communications
219. As part of the House's human resources strategy, an Internal
Communications Manager was appointed in October 2002 to implement
the recommendations made in a comprehensive review of the House's
communications practices. Attention has to date been focussed
on improving corporate communications: this has included the launch
of a new style staff magazine and an annual management
conference. Areas of future work include helping departments introduce
more effective methods of sharing information both within and
beyond departmental boundaries.
220. Departmental intranet sites are an increasingly important
internal communications tool, used by Members, their staff, and
House staff. There were over 3 million intranet hits in 2002/03
as a result of which content was successfully retrieved. By early
2003, the level of intranet usage was running at more than seven
times the level of the same period in 2002.
Occupational health, safety and welfare
221. In 2002 the contract for medical services with Guy's and
St. Thomas' Hospital Trust was extended to March 2005. The contract
provides an Occupational Health Physician working one day each
week and a Medical Adviser working three days each week. During
the past year, medical screening services were extended to cover
Members of the House of Lords. The Occupational Health Service
provides referral services for departments on matters relating
to long and short term sickness absence. The table below shows
activity levels in this area over the last five years.
Occupational health: activity levels
| 1998/99 | 1999/2000
| 2000/01 | 2001/02 | 2002/03
|
| Treatments provided by nursing sister | 1,069
| 1,257 | 1,242 | 1,268
| 1,772 |
| Medical screenings of Members by physician |
175 | 91 | 78 |
98 | 89 |
| Staff referrals to physician | 82
| 49 | 93 | 156
| 121 |
| Referrals to physiotherapy service | -
| - | 44 | 76 |
308 |
| Sickness absence referrals | 91
| 100 | 66 | 70
| 142 |
222. The Welfare Service provides advice and counselling services
to all Houses of Parliament staff in relation to financial, health,
bereavement, family and work-related issues. It also provides
support to managers to resolve difficult staffing situations.
The Welfare Service handled 482 cases during 2002 of which 267
were new.
223. The Health and Safety Adviser continues to provide advice
and support to departments and the Health and Safety Committees
of both Houses on all relevant aspects of the law and good working
practices. During 2002/03, 210 incidents were reported, 17 of
which were reportable to the Health and Safety Executive. All
departments now have safety actions plans and forward job plans
contain health and safety objectives.
224. First aid and defibrillator support have also increased this
year. Defibrillators now cover the entire parliamentary estate
and there are 60 members of staff trained in their use. First
aiders number 116 in the House of Commons and in recognition of
the sensitive and onerous nature of this work, a remuneration
of £200 per annum is now paid to all full time staff available
as first aiders. A pro-rata remuneration is paid to part-time
staff. The number of blood donation sessions was increased in
2002/03 with a total of 294 donations being made (an increase
from 119 last year). Due to increased demand, the sessions are
being further increased to take place over three days instead
of two previously.
225. The Westminster Gym (under contract management) continues
to thrive. Total membership now stands at 744, gym visits at 28,330
and total visits (including classes) stands at 35,812. During
2002/03 the current contract with Jubilee Hall Clubs was extended
to October 2004.
Catering Services
Facilities include eight self service restaurants, six table service
restaurants, six bars and numerous hospitality rooms for private
functions
226. The House of Commons Refreshment Department provides catering
and retail services for Members of Parliament, staff and visitors
to the parliamentary estate. Retail and merchandising activities
are reported elsewhere in this report (see paragraphs 141 and
171 to 172). The department operates a wide range of catering
services located in the Palace of Westminster, Portcullis House
and two other parliamentary buildings. Facilities include eight
self-service restaurants, six table-service restaurants, six bars
and numerous hospitality rooms for private functions. The House
of Lords has its own Refreshment Department, but Members and staff
of the Lords are able to also use many of the catering services
provided in the House of Commons.
227. The annual operating cost of the Refreshment Department (approximately
£11.5 million) is jointly funded from the House of Commons
Administration Estimate and receipts from customers. In 2002/03,
receipts from customers (the trading income) totalled £5.67
million and were almost £340,000 above budget. Operating
costs, particularly food and beverage purchases, were controlled
well and consequently the Department returned a trading surplus
of £608,000 (11 per cent) - more than double the annual target
of 5 per cent - from its income from customers. This was the Department's
best trading performance since the current financial framework
was introduced in 1993. After incorporation of the trading surplus,
the net cost of operating the Refreshment Department in 2002/03
was £5.63 million, an under-spend of £320,000 against
the approved estimate of £5.95 million.
228. The demand for catering has grown consistently in recent
years, particularly since the opening in December 2000 of the
new services in Portcullis House. In 2002/03, the House of Commons
Refreshment Department served a record number of covers (i.e.
a meal or a food sale transaction); at almost 1.4 million covers,
this represents a 25 per cent increase since last year and a 50
per cent increase since 1997/98.
229. Growth is most marked by the increasing customer demand for
high-quality self-service restaurant and snack facilities. The
popularity of the facilities in Portcullis House, with their emphasis
on healthy eating and premium quality foods that can either be
eaten at the place of purchase or taken away, mirrors food trends
reported throughout the food service industry.
230. The past year has very much been a period of consolidation,
preparing for the inevitable changes in demand for catering services
that would arise following the introduction of the new patterns
of sitting for the House in January 2003. The full impact of these
changes will only become clear over a longer period, but it is
already apparent that demand for evening services has been significantly
reduced, whilst demand for early morning services has increased.
Lunchtime remains the peak demand period and the Department continues
regularly to serve over 7,000 meals a day when the House is sitting.
231. Apart from the opening of the Jubilee Café in May
2002, the Refreshment Department opened no new facilities during
the year, but has made best use of its existing resources to cope
with the increased and changing demand for catering services.
The Catering Committee published its Report on Refreshment
Facilities in the House of Commons in July 2002,[29]
making various recommendations for the future development of the
Department's services. This will provide a basis for future discussions
about the development of new or different services to meet the
changing needs of the House.
232. The greatest challenge for the Refreshment Department remains
the development and retention of a workforce with the modern skills
and motivation to continue to deliver a highly professional catering
service in the face of new and changing demands. The Department
remains an Investor in People and is a registered Awarding Centre
for National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs). During the past
year, the Department has also achieved accreditation under two
schemes operated by bodies governing the professional standards
of the hotel and catering industry: the Hotel and Catering International
Management Association's (HCIMA) Hospitality Assured standard;
and, the British Hospitality Association's (BHA) Excellence
Through People.
Internal Review Services
233. The Internal Review Service (IRS) provides internal audit
and staff review services. Its principal role is to provide the
Clerk of the House (as Accounting Officer) with an assurance concerning
the adequacy of internal controls. Its other role is to assist
in ensuring that the House makes effective, efficient and economic
use of its human resources. IRS works closely with the Audit Committee
(see the annual report of the Audit Committee on pages 70 to 72).
234. Under the sponsorship of the Director of Finance and Administration,
IRS continued in its temporary role of facilitating the embedding
of risk management into the processes of the House. A further
report was put before the Board of Management in March 2003 and
IRS has now stepped back from its initial facilitation role to
one of risk monitoring and assurance. Risk management is seen
as a major element in the development of good corporate governance
as well as being necessary to support the Statement on Internal
Control signed each year by the Clerk of the House.
235. IRS provided substantial assistance to ensure the accuracy
of the first set of resource accounts published by the House,
and that internal controls were adequate.
236. IRS carried out a value for money study of procurement and
made a number of significant recommendations to improve control,
consistency and value for money. The principal recommendations
were the establishment of a central pool of expertise and the
development of a House-wide procurement strategy (see below).
237. In addition to the above, IRS has carried out reviews of
the payment system for parliamentary publications, closed circuit
television, the Speaker's Art Fund, data protection, and the Members'
Fund. It has also followed up previous audits, and has contributed
to the risk profiling of the project to replace the main administrative
systems of the House (HAIS).
238. On the staff review side IRS conducted a number of reviews
including of the Office of the Parliamentary Commissioner for
Standards, the Office of the Clerk, the Refreshment Department
Personnel Office and a grading review of the senior structure
of the Department of the Serjeant at Arms. At the request of the
Commission, a major review was undertaken of the staff support
for select committees, in which the National Audit Office participated
(see paragraph 69). IRS has continued to provide advice to the
senior structure Job Evaluation Panel and to managers across the
House about the job weight and banding of individual posts.
Procurement
239. A central procurement office (CPO) for the House of Commons
administration was created in the summer of 2002. It is headed
by a Director of Procurement and has a small team based within
the Department of Finance and Administration, but also works very
closely with staff supporting major works and other procurements
in other departments.
240. The Director and the CPO have a remit, approved by the Board
of Management, to support House-wide purchasing activities and
to ensure that these and other procurement exercises are conducted
within the regulations set down by both the UK and EU parliaments,
and to help achieve value for money in contractual arrangements.
241. CPO set about creating an intranet site to host an on-line
desk guide, together with a number of commonly used template letters
and documents, intended to inform and help anyone needing to undertake
a procurement on their own. It has also produced, in collaboration
with Legal Services Office, a revised standard set of contract
terms and tender forms. Another initiative was to introduce -
into both Houses of Parliament - an on-line system to create and
transmit compliant official contract notices electronically, which
will build into a comprehensive database of House-wide procurement
activity.
242. Between August 2002 and March 2003 the CPO was directly involved
in fifteen tendering exercises (nine of which have passed the
award stage and eight were or are regulated by the EU Directives),
provided professional advice in the case of six other major procurement
projects, and drafted three Service Level Agreements. The total
value of tenders undertaken was £12.49 million.
243. During 2002/03 the Serjeant's procurement team
was directly involved in 38 tendering exercises (eighteen of which
have passed the award stage and 28 are regulated by the EU directives,
one on hold). The total value of tenders undertaken or in process
at the end of the year was £16m.
Fire safety and training
244. Sir Charles Barry's design for the Palace of
Westminster following the Great Fire of 1834 used non-combustible
structural materials. Thus, roofs were of cast and wrought iron
and floors were supported, not on timber beams, but on cast iron
joists and brick arches. The modern fire protection strategy for
the Palace includes fire compartments and automatic fire detection
in every room. The primary fire compartment boundaries designed
to resist a fire for sixty minutes have now all been completed
and the secondary compartment boundaries with thirty minutes resistance
are being installed. Automatic fire detectors are in place through
most parts of the Palace and the remaining rooms will be equipped
over the next four years.
245. Staff of the House are invited annually for
one hour of fire safety training. During 2003 that training is
being extended to Members' staff and others who are employed to
work in our premises. Members themselves will also be offered
the opportunity of taking the training.
246. All buildings on the parliamentary estate have
current fire certificates. Portcullis House has an innovative
fire engineering solution approved by the Home Office Fire Inspectorate
at the design stage of the project. Following the completion of
the structure the Chief Inspector agreed in principle to the certificate
being issued, subject to further detail being agreed. The certificate
was issued in May 2003.
Energy conservation
247. The House of Commons is committed to increasing
efficiency in the use of heating fuels and electricity, and to
purchasing 10 per cent of electricity from renewable sources.
Between 1990/91 and 2002/03 average energy use per square metre
on the parliamentary estate reduced by 14 per cent.
248. The current energy conservation strategy includes
investment in energy saving schemes offering pay-back periods
of up to seven years; sub-metering to give better information
on where energy is consumed; capitalising on the improved efficiency
available from the new Palace boilers and chillers; optimising
the efficiency of the combined heat and power plant and absorption
chillers at Norman Shaw South; and encouraging nominated 'energy
savers' in the departments of the House to make savings. Also,
the computer building energy management systems controlling Portcullis
House, the Palace and other buildings on the estate are being
refined.
Waste recycling
249.The parliamentary waste management policy is to minimise waste and maximise
re-use and recycling. Recovery techniques are used for all waste
which cannot be re-used or recycled. Parliament currently recycles
waste paper, cardboard, glass, oils, metals, timber, lighting
tubes and printer toner cartridges. Material which cannot be re-used
or recycled is recovered by incineration to generate electricity.
The targets set by Government for its own offices for 2002/03
were 40 per cent of waste to be recovered and 25 per cent of waste
to be recycled. In the Palace of Westminster (including the House
of Lords) during the same period, 100 per cent of waste was recovered
and 38.8 per cent of waste was recycled. Waste paper recycling
is currently being extended to the offices of all Members and
staff who wish to participate.
24 Serjeant at Arms Department Back
25
Information Architecture Support Unit and IS Programme Office Back
26
Refreshment Department Back
27
Senior Commons Service Back
28
full time equivalents, averaged over the year. Figures not calculated
on this basis before 2000/01 Back
29
HC 832, 2001-02 Back
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